Chapter 14: Treachery

Well, now we enter chapter 14. Before we start off, one review Q&A

charizardag: I won't answer any more plot details, so don't ask, but no. Nev's body structure won't allow for it.

And now the reviews section is rated M thanks to Zaratan. Just kidding :P

Also, this chapter is pretty much the gap to the conclusion, which we'll be reaching soon (doy). I'm kinda glad I didn't upload the first draft of this. Rewrites help. Again, correct me for any mistakes in the plot or story!

By now, everyone had returned to the cave and were cleaning themselves up, at least those who had the strength to. The girls took their time, seeing as they were all covered in smoke from head to toe. They didn't want to taint the pure water of the hot spring, but fortunately Yori managed to find a bowl-shaped rock, probably used for this very purpose. After Kim was finished, she quickly went back to her bag to see if there was any equipment that would be of any use to help Ron. After all, they had left a bloody trail on the way back, as Ron could hardly walk. He thought he was fine, but none of the girls allowed him to be any more reckless.

Kim still had a hard time accepting everything that had happened. Not only did Ron somehow survive being smashed between a steel door and an iron wall, but he also didn't suffer a single broken bone. To make things less acceptable by realistic standards, he was somehow healing at an incredible rate. Was this what the Mystical Monkey Power truly was about? How long had been active? The last thing Kim was going to believe was that Ron's training somehow made him indestructible like warriors in martial arts films who could be crushed over and over and somehow live.

Yori had applied some herbs back when they were in the hangar, but there was nothing in Kim's bag other than more bandages, more painkillers, and other things shewasn't too comfortable with using to heal him, mostly surgical materials.

Ron wasn't the only thing Kim's mind was on. The two had survived death and death again, and Kim was starting to get used to it, but what really took her mind elsewhere was the entire mission. Once again she had been played, going all the way across the world only to find out they were trying to disarm a fake nuke. What was the real motive? Was it like Nev guessed, that a thousand bio-mechs were mass produced in the time it took to get from Bay City to the Hangar?

No, Kim thought, there had to be more. She didn't know what the MPAWV was, or why it was suddenly brought up in this whole thing. Did Elurt's henchmen intend to steal them? Well, either way, all four in the world were destroyed. Did it matter anymore? What if there were more? And maybe she wasn't right about the nukes being in Bay City. It would make sense that they would be kept there, but not to detonate them. Four nukes in the same place would only pound the city harder, not actually spread wider from a combination. But then again, nuclear studies weren't a course offered at Middleton.

Unfortunately, Wade and Nev couldn't detect any in Bay City. They must have been stealth missiles of some kind.

"Kim?"

Needless to say, Kim didn't like it when she couldn't figure out something. It was finally starting to come on her how serious the situation might have been. If she couldn't figure out a plan, it meant trouble.

"Hello?"

So there was a secret military site in Tibet, Mexico, the US, and Antarctica with one of these mechanical devils. Was there perhaps another reason these locations were picked out? Sure, a nuke in the US would be catastrophic and send the world into chaos, a nuke in Mexico City would cause massive casualties, and it also has a heavy risk of being in the wrong hands. Everest being taken out by a nuke would not only see the end of a historical legend, but the winds would also affect the nearby areas. And Antarctica? The heat from the nukes would allow the glaciers to melt, therefore flooding several countries. But they couldn't be ideal places for four of the strongest weapons on earth.

"Kiiiiim…"

But the nuke wasn't a nuke. There had to be a reason for this… for everything.

"KP…?"

Kim finally sighed. "Ron, what?"

Ron was trying to whisper from her ear, but he backed away. "You're going to give yourself a migraine if you think about the situation too much."

Kim sighed. "I just can't crack it. You get the feeling…"

"… that something really bad is going to happen?" he asked with a casual tone. "Almost always."

Ron Stoppable: Fearless or fearful.

He was sitting against the wall of the cave, still resting and listening to his orders not to make any drastic movements. He had never been in a situation where Kim, Yori and Jen all made strict orders for him not to move. They were all tough and he would suffer their fury if he disobeyed. Of course, leaning in closer to Kim to grab her attention didn't count. Speaking of the other two, Yori was still in the process of cleaning herself, but Jen was oddly quiet, sitting near the hot spring with no expression on her face.

Ron felt a slight bit of pain as Kim snuggled herself closer to him, but she looked tired, yawning.

"So what else do you propose, Ron? As much as I love the hot spring, getting out is another story."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm still a'hurtin. I'm just going to sit back and rest longer."

Kim still wasn't sure if she should have been concerned over how quickly he was healing. Back at the hangar, Ron didn't take the situation seriously, perhaps from disbelief, and he probably wasn't going to accept it even now. He didn't really realize that he was actually dead for a few minutes, and that Kim somehow revived him. Maybe it was just her. Perhaps it was his powers… Did Ron possess some kind of healing ability, or did he-

"Kim, you're thinking too hard about things again."

Kim also didn't like it when her train of thought was disrupted, but she knew Ron was doing it because he cared… this time at least. Most of the other times were because he saw a cool video game or wanted to eat. Maybe that's why he was good at keeping her stress level low - he would never allow her to think too hard on a situation. Whether this was good or bad was arguable.

Yori thought she was starting to get used to seeing the two very close to each other, but she was also glad that Ron was okay. But why did Kim react the way she did? Yori had seen students at Yamanuchi fall from the highest trees and land on their face, only to get up and try again. It was a test to see how long one could maintain their balance. There were also those who were forced to carry bricks on their back, and some would collapse under the weight. None of them were severely injured, though. To Yori, none of this was different. Yes, it was painful to watch, but it couldn't have been something he was going to die from, or could it?

Kim's tears… Ron had been out like a rock and Kim was freaking out. Ron had lost a lot of blood in less than a second; appearing extremely pale once Kim pulled the door away from him, especially when she peeled him off the iron wall.

Maybe Kim did care about Ron… more than Yori ever would.

Was it a crime to fall for a guy because he was the only boy who treated you like a human being? Like a person?

Then again, Yori didn't want to tell Ron about her past, her childhood.

Perhaps there was more to love…

Ferno-san was actually a good person to go for knowledge and advice, but Yori noticed that Jen hadn't said a word since returning to the cave, appearing extremely depressed. Yori knew why. Jen had been working with Nev for a couple of months, but she had known him for less than half a year. She could tell there was a strong friendship between them, but nothing in comparison to what Kim and Ron had before they started dating. Jen was someone who disliked a lot of things, but for the things she did like, she was caring and passionate.

Perhaps it was separate views. Maybe Jen told herself she and Killbourne were close friends. Maybe he thought they were just comrades, friends, or just a colleague. Or maybe he intentionally kept a lot of secrets. He wasn't exactly open about everything he was doing, from personal projects that involved computer skins, stories, movies, or cartoons. In fact, he was extremely secretive about who he was and what he liked. He had the flaw of asking people about who they were, but was too shy or embarrassed to share his own details.

Now they knew why.

Yori didn't know the guy very well, so she wasn't as surprised as everyone else was when hearing it. Ron learned the story back when he had his battle suit created, but Kim and Jen had no idea. Kim felt miserable and guilty for asking the question, since she had no idea some people were like that. Yes, many of the girls in Middleton liked to toy around with guys, and some guys did like to be teased. Unfortunately, the plug never went into the socket; the girls who liked to toy around with guys did it to those who hated it. This went both directions, obviously. A lot of kids in Middleton were cruel, not just to Ron, and that was another reason Kim didn't hang out with every single group, though she was more than capable of doing so because of how open she was. But to hear of someone getting manipulated into a trap from a friend, and waking up seven months later as a cyborg… she knew the world was cruel, but that story was too much for even her.

Just by the guilt in Kim's eyes when she heard the story, everything was clear to Yori what was going on in her mind. Jen almost burst into tears, but was using every ounce of strength in her body from appearing weak.

To Yori, it wasn't difficult to figure out.

Jen wasn't crying because a friend of hers suffered, it was because someone she had feelings for suffered. Could she accept that this person was not what he appeared to be?

Looking at her eyes right now from across the cave, it was hard to say. In fact, Yori couldn't even see her thoughts through her eyes. She could see compassion, sadness, anger, any emotion by looking at the two jewels on someone's face. But Jen had no expression. She looked depressed, but it wasn't clear whether it was sadness or hate.

Probably a good idea to leave her alone for now.

"Yori?"

Stoppable-san's voice.

Yori turned to Ron. Kim was still snuggled up against him and had an arm around him, but she appeared to be asleep. Yori slowly approached her old friend.

"What is it, Stoppable-san?"

"You look more worried than usual. What's on your mind?"

Weird, it was like Ron switched brains with Jen.

"It's nothing important."

Ron smirked. "C'mon, Yori, it's not that hard to tell."

Oh, if only there was an easy way to walk out of this one.

"I am just having a few memories of today, how you were injured, Killbourne-san's story, and how Possible-san and Ferno-san are taking it… She looks really depressed."

Ron took a look at the quiet blonde sitting near the spring. The reflection of the water gave her a pale blue complexion, almost like Drakken.

"That was Nev's biggest secret. Surely he didn't want everyone to know, but at least he didn't show them the details. He probably held it back from Jen so it wouldn't scare her."

Both sighed. Neither trained ninja was a stranger of emotions.

"Stoppable-san… do you think she is going to be okay?"

Ron took his time to think of an answer.

"The shock will wear off… when, I don't know."

Yori was quiet until something else came to mind.

"So how are you coming along?"

Ron didn't even look at himself. "Me? Eh, itchy and painful in some places, but a little… it's hard to say… It's not dizziness, not queasiness… it's like all my senses are being constrained… if that makes any sense, probably not."

"Hmm…" Yori acknowledged.

Ron actually felt numb in a lot of areas, his eyesight was a bit blurry, but internally he was feeling something he never felt before. It wasn't pain, it wasn't numbness, but it was something he wasn't completely comfortable with.

In fact, it kind of felt like a hungry stomach, but he had eaten less than an hour ago. The feeling also surrounded his entire body, not just the stomach. Very similar to the time Kim wrapped her arms around him at Prom, but it couldn't have been that right now. He had gotten used to that feeling rather quickly.

"So… how is Possible-san?"

Yori couldn't help but observe Ron's sleeping girlfriend, who looked so comfortable and peaceful. In fact, Yori hadn't seen her smile at all this entire time, even in Bay City. She really looked so much different than when she was in battle.

"KP? I guess the fight and all the thinking wore her out. I'm kind of worried about her myself."

"She seems okay…"

Ron chuckled. "I know her. If she can't figure out something, she becomes obsessive, and that can be scary. She always has to get her bad guy, and usually plans are… well, simple. Steal a laser gun, threaten the world, that's it. But this is different, even for her. Heck, it's the first time we've tried to take out a nuke, only to find out it was a fake, and we took out some giant walking tank thing. Well, you and she did, anyway. I didn't expect that one."

"How about you? Have you thought about what is going on?"

Ron scoffed at himself. "I'm terrible at figuring out stuff, and it's not like this Elurt guy is a regular. When it comes to Drakken, Monkey Fist and Killigan, it's easy to find out. But this, I'm clueless."

"You give yourself too little credit, Stoppable-san."

Ron took a moment to look at some the bandages on him. "A little? Heh, I got overconfident and look what happened… I'm a wreck."

"We all make mistakes, even the most wise and most brave," Yori tried to assure him.

"Heh, I doubt Sensei ever has."

Yori rolled her eyes with a smile. "Don't be so certain, Stoppable-san. There was one time he accidentally put his colored clothes to be washed with the white tunics at the school. Needless to say, everyone's clothes were red and yellow on the first day of class, but that was well over three years ago."

"I stand corrected." Ron sighed. "I'm sorry for everything, Yori."

Yori blinked a couple of times. "Sorry? For what, Stoppable-san? You have done nothing wrong."

Ron shook his head. "I mean the stuff between me and KP. I've been trying not to get all affectionate and all PDA in front of you. I don't want to be rude or anything."

"PDA?"

"Public display of affection. Either really cute, or extreeeeeeeemely annoying. I know I didn't like to see guys flirt with Kim or see Kim flirt with some guys, especially with Erik…"

Yori put a finger on his lip. "Stoppable-san, it's not your fault. I know I can't shake my feelings for you… even now, but I intend to keep my promise of not interfering with your relationship with Possible-san."

Ron wasn't convinced. "Yori, the pain's written all over your face. It's not easy seeing someone you care about being kissed or hugged or any of that stuff by someone else. I know. I'm not going to force you to see things you don't want to. You're strong, Yori, but we're all made with weaknesses."

Yori sighed. "You're right, Stoppable-san. Sensei would say the same thing…"

Now that Yori brought up his name, she couldn't help but sense an ominous feeling in the cave. Why Sensei's name? It wasn't a feeling of danger… Sensei couldn't have been around…

"Oh, please," Ron replied, breaking Yori's thoughts. "Sensei's probably got an IQ of 300 and I've got one of 70 or something. But anyway, I don't want you to feel hurt in any way. Talk to me if you're not feeling comfortable, okay?"

The kindness in Ron's heart made Yori want to do something else, and not on the cheek this time. But she was trained to constrain herself, but it was much harder when it came to her emotions. That smile, his sincere eyes…

Her thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of water. Jen had tried to wash her face from the spring water in an attempt to clean her own thoughts.

Yori sighed. "I should go talk to her, Stoppable-san. Again, thank you for your caring concern."

Ron just gently nodded, acknowledging with a smile. Little did he know Kim was listening on the whole conversation.

Over at the spring, Jen was cleaning her face, staring at the moving reflection in the water. Much like Kim, she was also having a hard time grasping everything that had happened. The death of an artificial human known as a bio-mech, knowing that the nuke was a fake, what Nev truly was… The last one was the thing that kept her mind in a mess. How could something like that be possible? How could any of this be possible?

Unlike Kim, Jen hadn't experienced a lot of the unreal things Kim had. The hyper speed female robots, jumping into the TV, no alien experiments, no half-man, half monkey martial artists, no villains with blue and green skin, no mutating lake, none of that. Sure, the Fafnir was a giant war machine, and Jen had her suspicions about the weapon's existence, but she knew little of the syntho-drones and nothing on the bio-mechs. She kept telling herself that was the reason for her funk.

But no, that wasn't it at all. Her concentration didn't change any when she noticed a reflection approaching.

"Hey Yori. How's Ron?"

Yori sat down next to her, and took a gaze at her own reflection. She could see why Jen was staring at it for the last hour or so.

"He is healing very quickly," Yori replied, "But we noticed your depression. Is everything okay?"

"I'll get over it," Jen immediately answered. "I'm just in disbelief for everything that's going on. I mean… wow. Bio-mechs in mass production at home… Never would've guessed."

Yori shook her head. "That is not the real reason, is it, Ferno-san?"

Jen didn't take a moment to defend herself. "Not at all."

"I understand, and… I know what it is that you are feeling."

Jen sighed, not in any mood to deny it. "I see, but I don't want advice on it. Not now."

Yori understood and respected Jen's request. "Ferno-san… you should probably get ready. I can hear the engines approaching."

The two then helped each other up. Jen and Yori already had most of their equipment packed, so this left an injured Ron and Kim to pack up. It took them a while to pack up their own things, and just as Ron closed the zipper on his pocket, the jet landed outside.

It looked almost exactly like the one from Bay City, except for the thick armor all over it. Probably a precautionary measure for the trip back. The door opened up and a set of stairs lowered into the thick snow. Kim was the first to get on, dragging Ron behind her with Yori's help.

Jen took the moment to take one last look at the cave. Unless she decided to do worldwide business like Kim, she wouldn't ever be coming back here, and she wouldn't see anything like this again. But when she looked back into the cave…

Nothing was there. No glow, no hot spring, no statues; none of the beautiful scenery, not even the hot spring was there anymore. She was standing in front of a regular cave.

"The hell…?"

Jen pulled out her camera and looked at the pictures in the memory. She knew exactly what she was taking pictures of, and they showed. The scenery, the statues, the beautiful blue glow, it was all in the pictures, but not in the cave she was standing in front of.

"Jen, come on!" Kim yelled.

She didn't know what to make of it. She just shrugged it off and advanced toward the jet.

Inside, the jet had a different appearance than the other one, being much more roomy, almost like luxury. By the time Jen got on, Yori, Ron and Kim had made themselves comfortable, glad that they were now able to rest on something soft, and the jet was very warm.

"So… who's flying?" Jen asked. "I almost got all of us killed the last time."

"I will," Nev's voice on the loudspeaker confirmed. "It got there on auto-pilot, it'll get you back here on auto-pilot. You guys can all rest. You've earned it."

Jen just shrugged. "Works for me."

Unknown Underground Location, USA

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Login confirmed.

A door opens, revealing some kind of meeting room with the works. A huge table with eleven teenagers sitting down, one empty seat, and a 3D hologram of the world in the middle of the table. It was the only thing lighting up the room.

The last one to walk in, a seventeen-year old purple-haired girl by the name of Eri, took a firm position as she pulled out some papers. She was clearly the leader.

"Sorry I'm late. I'm surprised the rest of you got here as fast as you did."

One of the many teens raised his hand. "How about the other four?"

"Team Possible's plane is leaving Tibet as we speak. They're heading back to Bay City to capture Elurt and Dive, destroy his army of Bio-Mechs, and find the nukes."

Another member at the table raised her hand. "Do you think they can take on the entire army on their own?"

Eri shook her head. "If they were unarmed, I would think so, but if we allow them to go in, it'll be a suicide mission for them. Laser beams and laser guns aren't that hard to avoid, but when you have ten mechs fire automatic machine guns at you with precision aiming, it's doubtful."

A blue-haired boy was the next to ask a question. "So that's it? You made all twelve of us rush out here from a fake nuclear threat to tell us this? You could've told us that on our cell phones or something."

"Of course not, assbolt," Eri retorted, "I asked you all to come here because I've found out much more information regarding Elurt. First of all, he's not the one behind any of this."

Everyone else gave the small girl a shocked glare.

"Then… who is it?"

The picture appeared on the screen. Everyone in the room recognized whoever it was who appeared on the screen. From there, the quiet room became loud as every teen started talking.

"That… traitor… This is bad."

"No shit, pal. That's why this is code red."

"So what do we do?"

"We can't allow Kim Possible or Ron Stoppable to fight him. We have to do her business before she comes back."

"Do you think we can?"

"She's going to get herself killed if we don't. We have to interfere any way we can. It's the least we can do since she's helped us so much in the past."

"Hah, she gets favors from people she doesn't even know."

"That's the point."

"Too bad, it would be nice to meet her in person."

"More so if she weren't taken. Yowza."

"Do you think we can take 'him' out?"

"We have to."

"And what about the nukes?"

"We'll find them somehow."

"I have a question… What about the fifth and final MPAWV, Harpuia?"

The room got silent.

"Stolen…"

"Oh, hell…"

"No doubt he's going to use it against Possible. We have to stop him."

"We had better get there before she does. She hates interference."

"Besides, if we succeed, she'll be in for a nice surprise."

"I guess we owe it to her to cut her some slack."

Eri finally finished the briefing. "That's it then, we're heading in. But we'll keep Load and Killbourne's communication between them tapped, should we find out anything else."

Meanwhile, Team Possible plus two were staring at the stars outside the window. It was perfectly clear over the pacific, and it would be a matter of time before the sun was going to rise.

Ron was perhaps the only one uncomfortable. The stars were great to look at, but he didn't want to get all mushy with his GF, especially not in front of Yori, but she refused to stop snuggling herself against her BF. He wasn't exactly in a good position to protest, either. He didn't know what to do, other than sharing uncomfortable expressions with Yori. The Japanese girl just turned back to the windows, trying to find some familiar constellations.

"Wow…" Jen started out, "You never see anything like this in Bay City, not with all the lights and noise."

Kim dreamily sighed. "It's almost like back in the cave. Ron, when we get back, we've so got to go out on a night like this."

"Yeah…" he replied emotionlessly.

Did Kim really have to wrap her arms around him and move her head up and down against him? But Ron feared Kim's reaction if he told her to knock it off. Stuff like this he would never mind alone with her, but in front of two girls, one who had a hard time fighting her feelings for him? Ron didn't like it one bit. Was it really Kim's fault, though? A bit, but all the blame couldn't be put on her.

No, the person who dragged Yori into this, Dive.

Ron wasn't the brightest bulb on a ceiling fan, but he could figure out things if time was given to him, and usually he couldn't with the high school stress or in the midst of battle. This was probably the exact reason that Dive sent Yori after him. He knew Ron didn't have the heart to hurt her, physically or emotionally, and she was going to force herself to team up with them. Typical Yori. She wasn't going to go back to Japan after doing what she did, not until she made it up to Ron. Dive also must've known that Kim wasn't afraid to be affectionate in public, and she wasn't afraid that Yori was going to steal Ron. It was going to throw the team off someway.

That bastard.

Poor Ron. In his life, he always wanted everyone to be happy, even those who refused to seek it. He never liked to see people who were depressed or sad, especially any of his female companions, but was it worth it? Ron was the kind of person who thought everyone could chill out, and even most of their regular villains did in some way. But he wasn't living in some fantasy. He knew good couldn't exist without evil and that there's no such thing as light without darkness. There would always be some conflict somewhere, but he didn't want it to affect those he cared about and loved.

He was steady with Kim now. He wouldn't change that, not even for Yori. But why make her suffer for this?

Something's wrong.

…

The sun had started to rise, and everyone turned their attention to the colors in the sky. It was beautiful.

Kim got herself closer to Ron, her cheek meeting with Ron's.

"I've never seen anything like it, Ron…"

"Neither have I, Kim… you look so beautiful in this light…"

Kim blushed. "Ron…"

Ron had a weird look in his eye, but it was probably the light. "I'm not going to fight it, KP."

"What do you-mmppph"

Out of nowhere, Ron took Kim off her feet and delivered a hard passionate kiss, giving Jen and Yori a front row view. Yori bit her tongue on the sight. Jen appeared disgusted, noticing that Ron was now using his tongue, and protesting against it was the last thing that came onto Kim's mind.

"Ron, what the hell?" Jen angrily asked.

Kim had practically fainted, that or Ron dropped her carelessly, but gave Jen a sinister look. "Back off, Ferno…"

Jen took a step back, purposely blocking Yori's view. It also appeared that Kim was still conscious, but it would take her a while to get out of la la land.

"Wow… Ron… did we.. just…?"

Ron slowly turned around. "Did you enjoy it, too?"

Kim nodded her head, but was too distracted to notice anything suspicious. Suddenly, it appeared as if Ron was going to go in for another kiss, but his hand pinched something… her butt. Everything became crystal clear once that happened, and Kim slapped Ron's hand away as the thought came to mind. A kiss in front of two others was a bit much, but touching her butt?

"Ron, what are you dong?" Kim demanded.

Ron just had a smile. "Ron? Oh, that's right…"

The girls were all skeptical. This wasn't Ron. In a situation like this, Wade might know something, but the second Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator, Ron kicked it out of her hand.

"You will find out nothing, Kimmie…"

At this point, it was obvious Ron was under some kind of mind control. Jen and Yori had already figured it out, but there was no visible sign of a mind control device on Ron. This was a cue for a certain naked mole rat, as he came out of Ron's pocket and crawled all over his body, inspecting him. This would usually tickle Ron, but he didn't laugh. Instead, he grabbed Rufus by the tail and gave him the coldest stare anyone could give someone.

It was enough to scare Rufus, and Ron tossed him toward the wall in disgust. Kim managed to catch her small comrade.

"Ron… stay still…" Kim warned.

"Or else what…?" Ron retorted. "You can't harm me…"

Kim noticed something different in Ron's voice – he was speaking slowly.

She decided to play along. "Oh, really?"

"Really."

Kim started to step in a circle around her BF, but his eyes were locked on hers.

"Kiiiiiim……."

There was no sign of mind control visible on him, not even his eyes.

"What's going on…?"

Ron just smiled at her. "Come on, Kim. You are fully aware of what's going on…"

His raspy breathing gave her a clue.

"Dive…"

Ron's smirk only confirmed it.

"Why are you controlling him?"

Ron just laughed. "You need to ask? Unbelievable. Isn't it obvious that I'm in control of the most powerful person here?"

The girls remained silent as the only boy in the room walked back and forth.

"You may be the brains in the team, Kim. Yori may have all the skills, and Ferno may have the tactical advantage, but Stoppable… you have no idea what his true potential is. If all of his true skills were to be unleashed, he could be the ultimate fighter. Better, stronger, faster, and smarter than all of you in battle. But I don't expect any of you to understand this with your current impression of the buffoon."

Kim started biting her lip. "What do you want, Dive?"

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Just to have a little bit of fun before the real fight begins, Kim. I would be more than glad to take over any of your minds, but Ronnie here is just too stressed, nervous, uncomfortable – weak-minded. Far too much compassion for my tastes."

"Let… him… go…!" she demanded.

"I have a better idea," Ron smirked, "Why don't we play a game? If you can hit me, I will release him. That's the only thing you have to do. Otherwise, you're all mine for the taking. You can hit me wherever you want and however you want. Your move is your own choosing. And don't worry, your friends can help you out if you need assistance."

The girls were silent. All of them were concerned for Ron's well-being, especially Kim and Yori, but they had to do what they had to do.

Jen popped her knuckles. "So, I guess we have no choice here, huh Kim?"

Kim's eyes narrowed. "He would do the same for me." She followed with an exasperated sigh. "Damn it, this is like the Val thing all over again."

Yori agreed. "He has already done so for me. It is time I repay the favor."

Kim was a bit tense. Hitting Ron was the last thing she wanted to do, but it was for the better… she hoped.

"Come!" Ron yelled. "Let's fight!"

Being Ron's girlfriend, Kim was the first one to start the attack, lunging at him with a fist, but he simply pushed it away. Kim came back with another punch near his belly, and he pushed it aside with the same hand.

Ron laughed. "I didn't say it was going to be easy."

Kim growled, trying to punch in various places. Shoulder, face, gut, chest, but Ron blocked all of them out with just his left hand. Finally, Kim faked a punch but went in for a sweep, but Ron somehow grabbed her foot and quickly pulled it upward, forcing Kim's body to flip twice in mid-air before landing on her face.

"Pity. You lack focus and thought, Kim."

Jen decided to head in, using an airborne kick as her first attack, and Ron was quick to block it with his left hand. But Jen anticipated this, immediately following with a swift kick that would actually strike the back of Ron's head. Unfortunately for her, he easily dodged it by lowering his head, and he also managed to grab her foot with his right hand. He quickly threw her against one of the windows with her own momentum, cracking it.

Ron kept smiling as he turned his head to Yori. "Well, babe, it's just the two of us. Didn't you want it to be this way?"

Yori didn't answer. She just bowed instead. She didn't care that her leg was still healing; she was going to do whatever she needed to do to save Stoppable-san again, even if it wasn't him.

Sadly, Ron put her out of commission fast. She went in with carefully placed and timed punches and kicks, those that would often throw someone off balance, but Ron was able to pick up on them, jumping out of the way, moving aside, or slapping the fist or foot out of the way. Because it was hard to think in a fight, Yori inadvertently tried to kick him with her bad leg, and Ron was able to easily evade, but not before he thrusted his fist into Yori's knee. She held back a painful scream as she fell, and she couldn't get up. The girls were all on their knees, Yori on one.

Ron just laughed. "Come on, chicas. It's not really that difficult. Just hit me once."

He continued to smirk as Kim and Jen leapt at him simultaneously. Yori could only observe the fight, as her leg was in too much pain to be able to stand or fight effectively.

Kim and Jen appeared almost to be equally skilled. They had been trained in various martial arts styles, but obviously not of the same. Kim's style relied more on offense and defense, while Jen's consisted primarily of grace and agility, especially the way she combined moves. There was no time to think in this fight, as with most hand-to-hand duels. By the time the girls thought of something, Ron had already seen it coming and evaded it. There were a few times where he countered or reversed the blow, but they couldn't manage to hit him.

Yori gasped as the fight seemed to come to an end. Both Kim and Jen went in for a punch, and Ron went in low, forcing the girls to accidentally punch each other in the face. As they staggered, Ron performed a backflip with both of his legs spread out, striking both in the face and taking them down with him.

"Ladies, ladies…!" Ron taunted before his voice went to disgust, "You're an embarrassment to those techniques."

Kim coughed. "It's going to take more than that to take me down!"

Jen popped her neck as she got onto her knees. "Is that all you've got?"

Ron shook his head. "No. Like I said, either you take me out or you're mine for the taking. And you lose. Pity. I would have liked to take you out in person."

Ron then let out a battle cry, but much deeper and angrier than his usual high-pitched scream, and started performing a few backflips. Suddenly, he was ready to leap high in the air to perform a move that would probably knock out the girls for good.

Dive forgot that an airplane is not an ideal place for leaping high.

To the girls, it looked strange. Ron performed a few backflips, and then jumped straight into the ceiling, going down faster than he was going up. Kim was just right next to him, and she quickly took advantage of the moment to grab Ron's collar. It appeared the blow to his head weakened the mind control, but Kim wasn't going to wait at all.

"Damn!" Ron groaned. "I forgot that this was an airplane."

Kim didn't bother with talking to Dive. She wanted Ron back, and she wanted him back now.

"Sorry, baby."

Closing her eyes, she slapped him as hard as she could, knocking him unconscious.

On the other hand, in the underground base, Dive was sent hurling toward the huge MPAWV behind him. His spine collided with the foot of the Harpuia and let out a sickening crack that could be heard from anywhere inside. The impact sent his face straight into the steel floor, painting it red once he removed his lips from it. He took a moment to taste his own blood, grabbing the area of his face that now red and shaped like a small hand.

"Boy, that brings back some memories…"

Back on the plane, Kim had laid Ron down and was checking his vitals. He seemed to be okay, but how did Dive manage to use mind control? There was nothing on him. No watch, no am bracelet, no ring, no earring (not that Ron had any piercings), nothing. He was clean.

Jen had a feeling that this was going to go into another make out session when Ron woke up, and now she was starting to have second thoughts toward the couple. Ever since Ron was supposedly flattened, Kim had been more intimate with him. She snuggled with him more, kept an arm around him, and kissed him. Jen didn't exactly blame her, since she also had a hard time believing Ron was still alive and okay, but the French kissing was a bit much for her.

So maybe the rumor was true, that Kim was weak towards guys – including Ron. But what she didn't know was that Kim would've been just as concerned even if they weren't dating.

Jen decided to put her focus on Yori instead, helping the girl up and allowing herself to be the support.

"You okay, Yori?"

Yori had a hard time opening her lips. "Somewhat. What just happened?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to see what happens between them when Kim finds out."

Kim already had her Kimmunicator out.

"Wade… something happened to Ron. Dive took control of his mind."

Wade took a sip of his soda before he did some typing. "You're kidding. Well, let me scan him and see if I can find anything…"

Kim did so, scanning Ron's body with the Kimmunicator.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh what?"

Comfortable and calm was the last thing Wade was. "I'll show you the pictures…"

Kim had a hard time making out what it was, but after adjusting the colors, she realized the pictures were of Ron's bloodstream. The pictures had focused directly on a few blood cells, but she got more worried when she noticed they weren't of the usual circular shape. They looked distorted, but even with the limited picture adjustment capabilities of the Kimmunicator, she couldn't see why.

"Wade, I need a better picture enhancement."

Wade did so without saying a word. The images were more brightened, and Kim could now see that his blood cells weren't distorted, but something was attached to each of them. It looked like some kind of mechanical device. When Kim had Wade do the others, she came to realize that it wasn't just a few blood cells that were like this. Ron's entire body was infested with…

"Nanomachines? But… how?"

"I don't know, Kim."

"Wade, this had nothing to do with the anti-freezing peptide that Ron and I were injected with?"

"No, of course not! I'd warn you two if I did something like that. That's a bit low, Kim."

"So sorry… but how do so many nanomachines get inside someone without them noticing?"

"Usually injection or being hit by a specific laser gun… unless something released them into the air…"

Kim took a moment to think… the grenade attack in Bay City, the syringe arrow, the knife that cut her arm, Dive's stealth camouflage, the accel stinger missiles, the fake nuke…

The fake nuke.

"Wade, do you think…"

"Already ahead of you, Kim. It makes sense, too, using a fake nuke to release nanos. Oh man…"

Kim sighed. "They really got us there."

"Kim, it gets worse."

"How?"

"I've already hacked into one of the nanomachines on one of Ron's blood cells. It has a timer."

"Oh no, don't tell me it's a self-destruct."

"Sort of. From what the programming language says, within a specific time period, the nanomachines will trigger apoptosis all over Ron's body, but it seems to be focused in the brain and heart."

Apoptosis: programmed cell suicide.

"Apoptosis? Is it actually possible to program such a thing?"

"Yes, absolutely. It's been used as an assassination tool - a biological weapon - in some countries. But it doesn't look like there's a way to shut them off. The batteries won't die until long after the final program is executed, and if you wanted to risk it, you could do something to electrocute him and overload the nanos, but that might confuse them and force them to execute their program, or kill Ron."

"Wade, there has to be a way."

"If only you had something designed to suck out nanomachines from someone's bloodstream."

"And that's where I come in."

Nev broke into the signal, splitting the Kimmunicator screen in two.

"Nev, this had better be the truth."

"Believe me, it is. And before you ask, the plane was well on its way to my lab before I heard about this. I just thought you guys could use a few more weapons and equipment before taking on Elurt and the bio-mechs, but now that I know about this…"

"Nev, why do you have something like that in your lab?" Wade asked.

"I had to remove nanomachines from my own bloodstream when the batteries died. They were used as a precautionary measure to keep myself alive at the time."

"Right… Sorry about the reminder."

"No big." Nev mimicked. "I actually feel relieved telling that story. At least you guys didn't think I was some kind of freak."

Kim scoffed. "I've experienced much weirder things, Nev. You're all right."

"Thanks, Kim. I'll have the machine ready for Ron when you guys arrive. Just keep him steady and be careful. The nanos in his head were probably the cause of the mind control-"

"It was." Wade confirmed.

"Well then, there's a chance Dive could control him again, but he can't do it with Ron unconscious, and he probably can't do it when Ron is feeling good. If something's bothering him, keep his mind away from it… that is, if he regains consciousness."

"I got it. Thanks you two."

"Peace." Nev signed off.

Wade wasn't done. "I'd release a signal that would disable the nanos, but it would be too risky. The others might be programmed so that they go off when others are knocked out. We have to use the machine Nev has and suck them all out. Then we can know for sure."

"I wish Nev stayed on. I hope it's safe."

"Ron's no safer without it."

"Good point."

"Now that we know Ron's infected, you should probably scan yourself, Rufus, Jen and Yori to make sure that they weren't."

Kim quickly scanned herself and the concerned naked mole rat, then quietly walked toward the other two and scanned them without saying a word. She went back to Ron when she was done.

"Anything?"

"You're all clean. It's just Ron."

"Hmm… why Ron? Wade, you don't think there's a way these things were programmed only to go into Ron?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure of it."

"How?"

"You know that blood carries a specific genetic code, right?"

"Sure do. I didn't know you could program such things… That makes sense… but why him?"

"I don't know, but I sure don't like where this is going."

"Me neither."

"I don't think this is just an ordinary destroy-the-world thing, Kim."

"I'm getting the same vibe. Any word on the other teams?"

"I haven't heard from them since you took off, but they have their bodies scanned before and after missions. They were all clean. But I did receive the official reports on the findings at the other three locations. The bombs in the other places had no such technology inside. They weren't even lethal explosives."

"Four bombs… and the one in Tibet was the only one with nanos inside?"

"Exactly."

"And they knew we were coming… How?"

"Whatever it is, I'll try to find out."

"Please, Wade."

"I'll do my best. Keep it easy until you reach Bay City."

He signed off.

Kim sighed. "Ron…"

She held him tightly and kissed him on the lips, pushing her face against his as hard as she could. Hopefully the plane would reach its destination before the nanos went off, but in case it wasn't, she wanted to have this moment while he was alive. Perhaps Ron was unconscious, but there was no telling if he would ever wake up.

Dive could see what Kim was doing just by Ron's nerves and vitals being shown on the several monitors. Whoever thought being held and kissed warmed the blood so well?

"Kimberly Anne Possible, world famous teen hero with no fears, so they say. Not when it comes to those she cares about, including Ron Stoppable. Fearless in combat, a strong strategic fighter, and able to effectively utilize any and all of her equipment in any given situation. Also one to use her surroundings to her advantage. Yet, she becomes weak when her loved one is in danger. Too weak. She's no hero… she's just a high school girl. I suppose she is human…"

Just then, something started vibrating in his pocket. Elurt was calling his cell phone again.

"Dive, we have trouble."

"Already under attack, I'm guessing."

"Yes, and they're making quick work out of the bio-mechs! I thought you told me these things could regenerate!"

"They can, but if they're using electronic flash grenades…"

"Why would that make a difference?"

"It releases a chemical that disrupts metal material. However, most of today's metal was designed not to be affected. This was because soldiers who used it indoors would sometimes be crushed by the collapsing building, as the metal structure that held it together would rust and break down almost instantly."

"I could care less. I want to know why this weapon affects the bio-mechs!"

"Because the chemical has been known to affect today's liquid metal, which Bradtosium is a form of, as with Hephaestus."

"I thought you said this technology was new!"

"The technology, yes. The chemical substances, no."

"Damn it, Dive!"

"Hey, if you want indestructible technology, freeze yourself for a thousand years. You know nothing of the technology that has been given to you!"

"Oh, but you're wrong."

"Am I?"

"You'll see."

"I do like surprises."

"I won't fail to entertain. But until then, I have to make sure none of these… teenagers?"

Dive looked onto four of the many monitors in the room he was in, seeing that the bottom floor was being stormed by teenage soldiers. Gotta love surveillance cameras.

"Surprised, Elurt?"

"Unbelievable."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"I'd better go."

"I'll make the preparations for Plan B."

"You do that."

Dive kept the monitors on and continued to look at the giant war machine in front of him.

"Hurry back, Kim. You're almost out of time, and the party's already started. I sure wouldn't want for someone like you to miss out."